Unlimited Luxury Villas - Icon Vallarta Condo

What an amazing place to spend some time in paradise! Our group of nine women went to celebrate a 50th birthday party. Although our condo had great reviews on VRBO, where we rented, we were a little concerned about the recent negative reviews on this site. Check-in was super fast. We experienced a friendly greeting from the concierge, our check-in info was looked up, we were outfitted with bracelets, and up the elevator we went to get a tour with our liaison with the property management company. Gabby was quick and efficient, showing us how to use the various features of the condo, how to save money on our electric bill, and which towels to take down for use at the pool and beach. About the towels. Our unit's towels were marked with the unit number. I have stayed at many properties on the beach with both pool and beach access in PV, and it is super common to have a distinctive towel in use at the property. This helps with resort safety as it is a quick visual means for security to scan the property and quickly pick out who does not belong. The reviewer who said there were different towels for owners and short-term renters - well we did not see that. Everyone had the same white towels, and nobody was treated differently based on their towel color. Pro tip: When you're down at the beach in the morning (because the sun hits there first!), look for the stack of chaise lounge cushions that get put out somewhere around 10 or 11 am. They will make your chaise so much more comfortable! Yes, the Icon card for poolside/beachside food and beverages does require you to do some math to predict what you might spend, as any balance left at the end of your stay is non-refundable. However, the card never expires, so you can save it and use it again when you return! We found it worked quite well to grab a menu and look at the prices of what you might order in a day, and put just one or two day's worth on your card. If you run short, the staff will let you know how much you need to add, and you can easily add more funds. I loved the Icon card, because it made it so I didn't need to bring payment down to the beach unless I planned on doing a little beach shopping. Side note, the food was ok, it did the job if you wanted to hang out in the sun for the day, but we preferred to go off-property to eat, or cook for ourselves in our kitchen. Yes, the chairs closest to the water are also closest to the section of beach that is public use and vendors can and do walk along the ropes and as you if you want a number of various items. Just give them a polite 'no, gracias' and they will move on. If you do want to make some purchases, try using a little bit of Spanish. You may not be fluent, but they appreciate you trying to communicate in their language. Here's what we loved: * The view cannot be beat. We stayed in tower 3 on the 26th floor with a balcony wrapping around three sides of our unit. With the AC off, you could open up the window walls and enjoy the morning/evening breezes with coffee or a cocktail * The staff were all so friendly. We didn't have a bad interaction. Sure, we were spoken to when we broke a rule (can't bring your drink in the pool), but it wasn't mean or spiteful. * The spa - the massages turned us to jello! * The drinks were great - plenty strong and tasty. * It was super easy to make a reservation for the hot tub, spa, whatever you needed. * The property felt safe and secure. We appreciated the gated access, and it wasn't hard to let the concierge know when we had transportation coming to pick us up. Can't wait to go back!